What is WHIP and WHEP? Creating Simpler and Faster WebRTC Connections

WHIP and WHEP are the newest additions to the WebRTC ecosystem, designed to simplify how real-time connections are made. In this blog, you will learn what these protocols are, how they work, why they matter, and what benefits they bring to developers and enterprises.

What is WebRTC?

WebRTC or Web Real-Time Communication protocol is an open-source technology that enables real-time communication directly in the browser without plugins. It powers use cases like video calls, news and sports broadcasting, live events, video surveillance, live auctions, sports betting, and other interactive applications. With WebRTC, you can achieve ultra-low latency streaming, making it ideal for experiences that require instant viewer interaction.

The WebRTC connection setup of yesteryear, and largely still today, is something that can drive a nuts and bolts networking-type crazy. It’s a signaling setup that involves multiple back-and-forth communications to put together offers and answers in an attempt to agree on the basics that are needed to set up a communications channel. Just about anything that can be done to simplify this process is an improvement. This is where WHIP and WHEP come into play.

What is WHIP? 

WHIP is the WebRTC HTTP ingestion protocol that simplifies how publishers send their media streams to servers. The idea is simple: either single or tiny subset of HTTP calls to set up communication over HTTPS instead of multiple calls via a WebSocket. Instead of chatting back and forth with offers, answers, candidates, the initiating client packages its offer in a request, and the response returns with both the answer and the Interactive Connection Exchange (ICE) candidates.

A client wishing to start a publishing session uses WHIP, emphasizing the “I” for ingest. In the initial connection, the client specifies its Session Description Protocol (SDP) offer in an HTTP POST to the server with which it wants to connect. The server responds with the SDP answer and information about the ICE candidates. Previously, this would have required several messages back and forth, adding latency to connection establishment. Using the provided ICE candidates, the publisher attempts to establish a connection, with ICE helping this connection traverse Network Address Translation.

WHIP clients use the Session Description Protocol (SDP) to describe media capabilities such as codecs, resolution, and audio setup. The whip server responds with an SDP answer containing matching details and ICE candidates that help establish connectivity across different networks. The whip endpoint acts as the entry point for publishers to send their streams to media servers or other ingestion systems. The whip specification defines how HTTP requests carry this information to make setup faster, more predictable, and compatible with existing web infrastructure.

Benefits of WHIP

1. Simpler connection setup: WHIP reduces signaling complexity by allowing a single HTTP request to exchange offers and answers, cutting down on multiple round trips.
2. Sub-100ms latency: Since connection establishment requires fewer steps, publishers can achieve sub second latency from the video source to the server.
3. Better compatibility: WHIP uses native HTTP, making it compatible with existing web infrastructure, proxies, and load balancers.
4. Faster integration for developers: With fewer moving parts, developers can configure, publish, and manage streams with less custom code and fewer errors.
5. Improved scalability: Its lightweight approach makes it easier to scale ingestion endpoints across distributed architectures like Kubernetes.

What is WHEP? 

WHEP is the WebRTC HTTP egress protocol that makes it easier for browsers and applications to receive real-time streams from media servers. Like WHIP, it simplifies connection setup by combining offer and answer exchange into one HTTP POST call. The response includes ICE candidates, allowing fast and reliable connectivity.

In WHEP, the emphasis is on “E” for egress. The WHEP protocol allows a viewer or WHEP client to request a stream through a WHEP endpoint, where it sends an SDP offer and receives an SDP answer in return. This process establishes the connection with the WHEP server, completing setup in a single call. ICE helps finalize the connection for the subscriber.

By simplifying the egress side of WebRTC, WHEP improves playback reliability and startup speed, allowing users to start watching live streaming content more quickly without waiting for multiple signaling steps.

Benefits of WHEP

1. Instant playback start: The single-request mechanism of WHEP reduces setup time, allowing near-instant video stream playback.
2. Simplified architecture: Developers can connect players directly to the whep endpoint, removing the need for extra signaling servers.
3. Compatibility with media infrastructure: WHEP works smoothly with existing media servers, making it easier to integrate into current workflows.
4. Efficient resource management: With fewer calls and less signaling, WHEP conserves bandwidth and improves the quality of video stream delivery.
5. Flexible deployment options: Its native use of HTTP allows deployment across cloud environments and tools that already handle REST APIs.

How WHIP and WHEP Compare to Each Other?

Both protocols simplify the WebRTC connection process and help achieve sub-second latency by minimizing the signaling steps needed to establish communication. Let’s take a look at how WHIP and WHEP streaming protocol compare to each other. 

Aspect	WHIP	WHEP
Purpose	Ingest or publish streams into media servers	Retrieve or play back streams from media servers
Key Focus	Publisher side (sending media)	Subscriber side (receiving media)
Cryptographic Identities	WHIP authentication occurs via HTTP means or custom token configurations; the configuration is flexible. DTLS/SRTP is implemented by default in the same way as WebRTC.	WHEP authentication and authorization is the same as WHIP.
Security	Relies on HTTPS authentication and authorization headers for controlled access to ingestion endpoints	Implements HTTPS authentication for subscriber access, ensuring stream-level control
Use Cases	Publishing workflows, encoder ingestion, and broadcast applications	Viewer playback, streaming platforms, and real-time monitoring
Cross-Platform Compatibility	Works with encoders, SDKs, and native mobile apps	Compatible with browsers, native apps, and embedded players
Codec Support	Matches codecs declared by clients and servers; typically supports VP8, VP9, H.264, and Opus audio	Matches ingest codecs for consistent playback; supports major codecs like H.264 and Opus audio

WHIP vs WHEP protocol comparison table.

In practice, developers can use both together to create a complete real-time workflow that is easier to manage and scale.. 

Why switch to WHIP and WHEP?

The market is interested in simplification and reducing the amount of time it takes to establish a connection. By switching to WHIP and WHEP, connection setup time is improved, and development is simplified by reducing the complexity of signaling to a single call.

At Red5, we are approaching it this way: simplifying how publishers and subscribers connect to ensure faster setup and improved quality of experience. This implementation reduces dependencies and enables flexible configurations within distributed clusters.

Watch a Youtube tutorial on how to set up a WHIP stream in Red5 Cloud.

Additionally, using WHIP and WHEP simplifies connection setup in multi-server environments, allowing for either a single call to a Stream Manager or direct connections to Origin or Edge nodes. This opens new opportunities to scale deployments efficiently, especially when using load balancers or Kubernetes-based systems.

It is important to note that WHIP and WHEP are still in draft form. Early implementation across encoders and players can vary, and developers might need to adjust configurations to match each platform. The expectation is that once ratified, interoperability will improve as the community adopts the standards more broadly.

At the moment, organizations that depend on live streaming with ultra-low latency can expect WHIP and WHEP to deliver strong results. While some limitations remain in interoperability, the value they offer lies in easier management, simpler integration, and better scalability.

Conclusion

If you read nothing else, remember this: WHIP simplifies publishing, WHEP accelerates playback, and together they make real-time live streaming easier to build, run, and manage by turning multi-step signaling into a single HTTP request and response. 

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